Protecting an Alien child's Reasonable Expectation of No Trafficking Act of 2022 or the PARENT Act of 2022 This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to transfer custody of an unaccompanied alien child only to the Department of Health and Human Services or the child's parent or legal guardian.
Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act This bill treats certain tribal law enforcement officers as federal law enforcement officers under specified circumstances. Specifically, the bill authorizes the law enforcement officers of any Indian tribe that has contracted or compacted any or all federal law enforcement functions through the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to enforce federal law within the tribe's jurisdiction if those officers meet certain qualifications. These qualifications include completing training and passing an adjudicated background investigation. Further, the bill deems a tribal law enforcement officer who is acting under an authorized contract or compact as a federal law enforcement officer for the purposes of certain federal laws, including for injury and death, retirement, and pension benefits. The Department of the Interior must (1) develop procedures for credentialing tribal officers to confirm these officers meet minimum certification standards and training requirements for Indian country peace officers, and (2) promulgate guidance to implement this bill. The bill also requires the Department of Justice to coordinate and provide oversight for its functions and programs to ensure a coordinated approach for public safety in Indian communities.
Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act This bill requires registered lobbyists to disclose any foreign countries or political parties that are involved in the direction, planning, supervision, or control of the lobbyist's activities.
Justice for American Victims Of Terrorism Act of 2022 This bill requires certain funds seized from Da Afghanistan Bank pursuant to a February 11, 2022, executive order to be transferred to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which provides compensation to certain U.S. persons injured in acts of international state-sponsored terrorism.
Supporting Opportunities to Build Everyday Responsibility Act of 2022 or the SOBER Act of 2022 This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program to provide funding for 24-7 sobriety programs. It also directs the National Institute of Justice to evaluate the policies and procedures used by grant recipients to reduce crime, recidivism, and incarceration attributed to use of alcohol or controlled substances.
Ensuring Safer Schools Act of 2022 This bill allows funds under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program to be used to hire and train veterans and retired law enforcement officers as school resource officers. It also directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to coordinate with COPS grant recipients to connect veterans seeking to serve as school resource officers with local law enforcement agencies participating in school-based partnerships.
Solitary Confinement Study and Reform Act of 2022 This bill establishes the National Solitary Confinement Study and Reform Commission to study the impact of solitary confinement on governments, communities, and social institutions. Additionally, the bill (1) directs the Department of Justice to publish national standards to reduce solitary confinement in correctional facilities; and (2) authorizes grants for community-based prevention and education programs, community-based mental health care, or community-based drug treatment or harm reduction.
Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act This bill expands existing sanctions on foreign individuals and entities responsible for human rights abuses (e.g., such as torture or forced labor) against members of Muslim minority groups or other persons in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. Specifically, this bill requires sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that knowingly (1) provide material support to the parties subject to the existing sanctions for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, or (2) engage in a significant transaction relating to such human rights abuses.
Secure Every School and Protect Our Nation’s Children Act or the STOP II Act This bill reauthorizes and supports various grants to enhance school safety and security initiatives. It also provides statutory authority for the federal clearinghouse of school safety resources. (The clearinghouse identifies and publishes best practices and recommendations for school safety for use by state and local educational and law enforcement agencies, institutions of higher education, health professionals, and the public.)
Leaker Accountability Act of 2022 This bill establishes a new federal crime for the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information by officers or employees of the Supreme Court. Specifically, the bill prohibits an officer or employee of the Supreme Court from knowingly publishing, divulging, disclosing, or making known in any manner or to any extent not authorized by law any confidential information coming to that officer or employee in the course of the employment or official duties of that officer or employee. A violation is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.
Unborn Protection Act This bill creates new federal crimes related to the performance of an abortion on an unborn child based on the results of a laboratory developed prenatal test. The term laboratory developed prenatal test means a type of in vitro diagnostic test that is designed, developed, manufactured, validated, or performed within a single laboratory and is not cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration It subjects a violator to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. It also authorizes civil remedies, including damages and injunctive relief. A woman who undergoes such an abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable.
HR 7604, the "Partial Birth Abortion Is Murder Act," amends federal law to increase penalties for physicians performing a specific type of abortion procedure (partial-birth abortion) that results in the death of a fetus. The bill replaces the current penalty of up to two years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, potentially life imprisonment, and eliminates eligibility for supervised release. It directly affects physicians who perform such procedures in interstate or foreign commerce, imposing stricter criminal penalties under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. The key provision changes the sentencing structure from discretionary to mandatory minimum incarceration.
